


Welcoming Committee

by RisingPhoenix761



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Other, SPN Fluff Bingo, Single Parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-28
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2019-11-06 21:05:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17947109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RisingPhoenix761/pseuds/RisingPhoenix761
Summary: A tragedy prompts a new start for Sam Winchester and his son Jack





	Welcoming Committee

**Author's Note:**

> I've never set out to write fluff before and it's a lot harder than it looks. This fills my single parent AU square. Enjoy!

Sam took the last box off the truck and carried it up the front steps and through the door, setting it down in the living room and heading back outside. The movers had already brought in what furniture there was, but there were still odds and ends in the driveway and he wanted everything in the house while there was still daylight. “Jack,” he called, “give me a hand with this stuff, then we’ll grab something for dinner.”

A teenage boy hurried to answer the summons with a smile and a “Sure thing, Dad,” and Sam had to stop and take a breath. That smile…it was just like Jess's…

It was hard to believe it was only a few weeks since the house fire. A faulty light switch, a short circuit no one noticed… Sam had fallen asleep in the living room in front of a documentary and Jack had been in his own bedroom, but Jess was sleeping at the other end of the house and by the time Sam woke up to the smoke and the heat, it was too late to get to her.

Dean had been on the road but came home as soon as Sam called. Losing his home, losing his  _wife_ , he needed his older brother, and Jack needed his uncle. If Dean hadn’t been there, Sam didn’t think he would have made it these last few weeks without going crazy. They definitely wouldn’t have found this house so fast, or this neighborhood.

There had been a few twitching curtains as they were unloading the truck, which wasn’t surprising. The realtor who showed the house had not only been very chatty, but also happened to live down the street, and he had no doubt that once he told Donna the story, she told–well, maybe not the  _whole_  neighborhood, but a good bit. The looks he and Jack got from people passing by, he had no doubt they were an object of token condolences and sympathy.

It was almost dark by the time they finished moving what possessions survived the fire into the new house, and Sam was exhausted from the day’s work. Nothing sounded better than falling into bed face first and trying to sleep, but he promised Jack dinner. He ordered a pizza and set to work unpacking a few necessary dishes while Jack set the table.

A knock on the door caught his attention and he frowned, glancing at the clock on the oven. It couldn’t be the pizza man already… He turned on the porch light and opened the door to see a young woman standing at the threshold. Long red hair, a Yoda t-shirt under a denim jacket, a warm smile on her face and a foil-wrapped dish in her hands, and he figured the welcoming committee had arrived.

“Hi, new neighbor!” she greeted cheerily. “I hope this isn’t a bad time, or…”

“No,” he assured her, scrubbing a hand over his face and raking his fingers through his hair, brushing off his tiredness. “Not at all. I’m Sam.”

“Charlie,” she replied. “I live next door, just thought I’d come say hey and welcome.”

“Yeah, thanks…” She was so upbeat and bubbly, he felt even more out of it by comparison. “Sorry, it’s just…it’s been a long day…”

“Oh, totally!” she said. “Moving days suck! I figured you guys would be pretty beat and wouldn’t feel like cooking, so I brought a casserole.” She held up the dish in demonstration, then added, “Well,  _technically_  it’s a shepherd’s pie, my girlfriend made it and she’s 100% Scottish, so yeah. She’s got mad skills, I swear she’s magic. Here, you’ll love it!”

“Sure. Thanks.” Sam took the dish and stood there, feeling awkward. Charlie stood opposite, still smiling at him, and he finally smiled back. “This was really thoughtful. I appreciate it.”

“No problemo. We try to look out for each other on this street. It’s pretty cool, you’ll get to know everyone really fast–”

“Hey, Dad, have you seen the–”

Jack approached, but paused when he saw Charlie, and Sam quickly introduced, “Charlie, this is my son, Jack. Jack, Charlie here lives next door.”

“We’re quiet neighbors,” she reassured them.

“Nice shirt,” Jack said, nodding.

“You like  _Star Wars?_ ”

“Yeah! Though I still haven’t seen  _Return of the Jedi_  yet…”

“Oh, that one’s my favorite! We should have a movie night with Ro, I’ve been trying to get her to watch for  _ages!_ ”

“Dad, can we?”

“Uh…” Sam looked from one excited face to the other, unsure when the conversation had derailed. “Yeah…yeah, that sounds cool…”

“When you’re settled in, of course,” Charlie added. “And I don’t know if you guys have your kitchen unpacked or not, but that pie is a thousand times better if you don’t put it in the microwave.”

“I’ll preheat the oven,” Jack volunteered, heading back into the house.

Sam wasn’t sure what was happening, but Charlie didn’t seem in a hurry to leave. She looked around the porch, eyes moving from the swing at the far end with the creaky chain to the new screen door, and said, “I think you’ll like this house. The Trans always took care of it before Kevin went to college and Linda downsized. And Rowena and I are right next door, feel free to knock anytime you like.”

“Yeah. Sure.”

She looked at him, and her expression mellowed. “So, uh…we heard about your wife,” she went on, hesitating. “That’s just…that’s  _awful_. And it might not mean much since we just met, but for what it’s worth, we’re sorry for your loss.”

Sam lowered his eyes, looking anywhere but at her. “I, uh, I appreciate that…”

“And that’s a real thing, we take care of each other around here. It’s just, the world is kinda crappy enough, you need good neighbors, and sometimes the neighbors start to feel like family, and family sticks together.”

Sam nodded in quiet acknowledgement. “That’s what my brother always says.”

“He sounds like a pretty smart dude.”

Jack came back outside, looking resigned. “Dad, the oven doesn’t work,” he said. “The stove gets, but the oven isn’t doing anything.”

“That’s fine, you can use ours,” Charlie offered. “We can make it a dinner-and-a-movie date, if you want. Ro won’t mind.”

Jack turned to Sam; Jess always joked that he could never deny being Jack’s father, having passed down his puppy dog eyes. That pleading, eager look was too much to resist and it was odd but fitting to have it turned back on him for once. “Can we?”

He hesitated, not wanting to impose and unsure if he was even up to dinner with anybody, but Jack looked hopeful and Charlie sincere, so he agreed. “Sure. If it’s not too much trouble.”

Charlie waved it off. “No biggie. And Ro loves having guests for tea.”

Despite his hesitation, he brightened at the mention of tea. “That sounds great, Charlie. Thank you.”

She grinned. “Sure thing! What else are neighbors for?”

It might not have been the welcome he was looking for, but this seemed like a good place to heal. And as far as fresh starts went, he was glad to start with friends.


End file.
